novelhk #351 - very good
#351 - very good
"Is Master Bamboo Cane also interested in a little gamble?" the Gambler asked, momentarily stunned.
The old blind man nodded. "Is it not allowed?"
"Of course not," the Gambler replied. "Gambling is more lively when everyone participates. I wonder how long Master Bamboo Cane wishes to bet for?"
"Two hours," the old blind man said blandly.
His tone sounded calm, but his words were like a thunderclap.
Not only the Gambler, but even the others around them changed their expressions upon hearing his words.
However, the Gambler had seen many strange gamblers in his time, and only lost his composure for a brief moment before saying, "Master Bamboo Cane is certain about two hours? No changes?"
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"No changes."
Upon hearing this, the Gambler turned to the remaining two. "Do you also wish to join?"
One of them, a scholar-like man, shook his head. "I study the words of the sages and am not fond of this path."
On the other side, the Young Marquis said, "You guys play. My term hasn't ended yet. I won't touch anything related to White Shells."
"In that case, it will be the fifteen of us against Master Bamboo Cane. Everyone probably doesn't have White Shells on them right now, so we'll have to trouble the Young Marquis to be a witness."
"Certainly," the Young Marquis nodded.
After explaining everything related to the gamble, the Gambler turned his gaze back to the old blind man and said respectfully, "Master Bamboo Cane, now that the gamble has begun, I should be able to ask the question in my heart. I wonder if Master Bamboo Cane can enlighten me?"
The old blind man chuckled. "I know what you want to ask. You want to know if I wasn't using my full strength earlier, right?"
The Gambler nodded. "Besides that explanation, I don't know what else could make you bet for two hours."
"What kind of person do you take me for? When it concerns human life, how could I not do my best?" The old blind man shook his head.
The Gambler was taken aback. "So you think so highly of him? You really think his skill is that strong?"
The old blind man didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "What about you? Why do you think so highly of him? You were the only one who bet on one and a half hours earlier."
The Gambler touched his nose. "Ah, well... because I read the latest Heavenly Balance List this year."
Seeing that most people were somewhat confused, the Gambler explained, "According to the records on the Heavenly Balance List, Lu Jing cultivates the Lesser Vajra Force internal energy."
"Everyone has probably heard of this most basic internal cultivation method in the martial world. Many people think it's useless, but that's not entirely accurate."
"Compared to other techniques, Lesser Vajra Force is not without its advantages. Its advantage is that it is sufficiently balanced and peaceful, making it difficult for practitioners to become Qi-deviated, and it is also not easily rejected by other true energies, so its performance is better than other true energies when it comes to prolonging life."
The Gambler paused and said frankly, "Of course, I'm not entirely sure about one and a half hours, I'm just going by feeling. After all, I've never practiced Lesser Vajra Force."
"Not bad, it seems your name as a Gambler isn't for nothing," the old blind man said after listening. "I underestimated you earlier, thinking you were like the other two, unlearned and unskilled. I didn't expect your experience and insight to be quite good."
The Gambler was suddenly praised and became a little embarrassed, grinning and saying, "No, no, the reason I know a lot is because I need to gamble with people. On the contrary, Master Bamboo Cane, you..."
"I'm just blindly guessing," the old blind man said leisurely.
"What do you mean? Do you have something to do later, Master Bamboo Cane?" the Gambler asked subconsciously, but he quickly realized something and his expression changed slightly. "Master Bamboo Cane, you..."
"I don't have many days left to live," the old blind man said bluntly, without any hesitation. "After taking that sword strike, I should have died, but I didn't expect to live another twelve years. These twelve years are a bonus for this blind man, so there's nothing to be sad about."
"It's just that I have a martial art, and it would be a pity if the inheritance were cut off just like that. Especially when I think that after I die, this martial art can only be handed over to the Young Marquis, and then you guys will use White Shells to play with it, I get more and more angry."
Everyone, including the Gambler, felt a little awkward upon hearing this.
Indeed, they sought out the Young Marquis to capture unique skills, basically just to see who captured the rarer and more powerful skills, but few people actually practiced them.
Especially martial arts skills. What's the point of practicing them? Anyway, they wouldn't leave the valley for the rest of their lives. What if they became invincible?
In fact, most paper figures, after moving into Mirror Lake Valley and having plenty of free time, no longer made any progress in martial arts.
The Young Marquis couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this.
Actually, he couldn't blame the paper figures in the valley for being lazy. The main reason was that Mirror Lake Valley was too quiet and peaceful. Those who were tired of the fighting and deceit of the martial world only felt that Mirror Lake Valley was a pure land, the dwelling of their dreams, when they first arrived here.
However, after losing the threats and pressure from the outside world, most of them also lost their goals in life and the meaning of effort.
They became idle and listless.
In a sense, the Young Marquis could actually understand why the Taoist Drunkard, the Old Fisherman, and the Gambler in front of him had become what they were. Because alcoholism, lying, and gambling were the last resorts they could find to pass the boredom after a long period of confusion and emptiness.
Something... that could barely be called a goal, but it wasn't a real life goal after all.
The old blind man muttered to himself, "I'm still not convinced. My skill isn't worse than his swordsmanship. The key is that my own internal cultivation is not good enough, and I can't unleash its true power, so the successor I find must have strong enough internal energy, so as not to repeat my mistakes..."
Speaking of this, he raised his head again. "Ever since the Young Marquis told me about that young man named Lu Jing, I have been paying attention to him. A first-rate realm before the age of twenty, there are only two in the world. Very good, this is very good... So today, in addition to saving people, the most important thing is to come and see him with my own eyes, to see if he is qualified to practice my martial art."
"But aren't you blind? How can you see with your own eyes?" the old fisherman couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
The old blind man didn't bother to pay attention to him.
After a while, he heard the Gambler not far away say, "Um... Master Bamboo Cane, are you really going to die? Then... can I open a gambling game, betting on when you will die? Don't worry, in the end, no matter who wins the money, everyone will use it to buy paper money to burn for you."
At this time, the drunken Taoist also opened his eyes and said, "Who, who is going to die? Will there be wine to drink at the funeral?"
"I think the three of you want to take a step ahead of me," the old blind man said grimly.